Chances are if you have had your computer for a long time then you will start to realize that it’s not as fast as it once was. Many things contribute to the slowing down of your computer. But before you decide to buy a new computer, here are 9 ways to speed up your computer.
1. Install Virus Protection
This is a no brainer. Running your computer without an Anti-Virus protection is like a death-wish for computer. Viruses are not only known to significantly slow down your computer, but can also retrieve your most personal information. How can viruses slow down your computer? Some were created to eat up your computer’s memory by running large tasks in the background while the more vicious viruses could do serious damage to your computer’s operating system and could wipe out everything.
McAfee and Norton are both very reputable programs, but I would also look into AVG, as it’s the one I personally use.
Once installed make sure you run a scan of your entire computer to eliminate any unwanted viruses from your machine. This includes every single hard disk installed and not just the disk that contains your operating system (usually C:\ drive).
2. Run An Anti-Spyware
Spywares are notorious for slowing down your computer as well as internet connection. They too can hog up your computer’s memory resource. By running Anti-Spyware it can both speed up the computer by freeing up more memory for ready use and it can help by taking stress off of the computer’s most basic systems. Having a spyware remover will greatly improve both safety and performance in your PC.
3. Install The Latest Windows Updates
Updates are additions to software that can help prevent or fix problems, improve how your computer works, or enhance your computing experience. Security updates for Windows can help protect against new and ongoing threats to your privacy and your computer. I strongly recommend you turn on automatic updates. This feature will automatically download the latest updates and then prompt you to install them.
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4. Uninstall Programs That You No Longer Use
By uninstalling programs that you no longer use, you will free up great amount of hard disk space enabling your computer to run faster. Most programs come with their own uninstall utility. Alternatively, you can un-install any programs by visiting your “Control Panel” and select “Add & Remove Programs.” Then browse through which programs you no longer use from the list and choose “un-install”.
5. Defrag Your Hard Drive
In the normal course of using a computer files and folders become fragmented on the hard drive(s). This simply means that files are not located intact in contiguous space but are spread out in bits in different areas of the hard disk. Retrieval and even saving files takes longer and in extreme cases can lead to errors. To improve performance, one should defragment drives as part of routine computer maintenance. Depending on the size of your hard disk it could take a long time to run the utility. I suggest you do this before you go to bed to let it run overnight.
6. Run a Registry Cleaner
Overtime, your Windows registry will pile up junk and is filled with invalid and obsolete keys or remnants of programs you may have uninstalled. These things can cause the startup process to be slow and could be the major cause of your computer’s poor performance.
Having a good registry cleaner will repair your Windows registry by knowing where precisely to remove those invalid keys that are left behind or added from spywares and viruses.
7. Clear Your Internet Cache
The purpose of internet cache is to enhance your browsing speeds. With this cache, your browser will no longer have to download each visit, because they are already on the hard disk. These cached files therefore accelerate navigation (especially if you visit several times the same page). However, storage of cached files take up space on your disk. Sometimes it could contain harmful virus. Thus, you should clear your internet cache.
8. Upgrade Your RAM For Your Computer
This one requires hardware change so you may need to have a computer technician install it for you. Technology changes so rapidly especially in the PC world. New programs and games require additional memory speed in order to run them. It used to be that 512MB of RAM was good. Today, anything less than 2GB of RAM is frowned upon.
9. Reformat and Reinstall Your Operating System
This would be the last resort, but it is also my favorite way to speed up your computer. Yes, it can be very time consuming. First you would need to back up all of your data on an external drive or it could be on the same hard disk if it was partitioned into 2 separate drives. Just don’t copy it onto your C:\ drive as usually it’s the drive that contains your operating system and it will be wiped out when you reinstall the OS.
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If you have done the previous 8 steps and still not see a boost in your computer’s performance then this last step will definitely make you see the light. Of course, this is given that you must install the same version of your operating system. By that I mean if you bought your computer and it comes with Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10 or Windows 11, then reinstall it with the Windows respectively.
This is because your PC’s specs was designed and configured to run XP at the time of your purchased. But if you try and upgrade your operating system to Windows Vista then you’re asking for trouble. Not only will it be slower, but your computer’s hardware may not be compatible with Windows Vista.
Just stick to whatever operating system that your PC originally came with and reinstall it. Again, you may need to have a computer technician or a friend that knows how to. Voila, you have learned how to speed up your computer. Put it in practice and enjoy the results.
